Israeli heart surgery for Iraqi-Kurdish newborn

An Iraqi baby born with a congenital heart defect is being flown to Israel for life-saving surgery after an emergency appeal to Israel’s Interior Ministry. Baby Ahlam, from Iraqi Kurdistan, suffers from the reversal of the main arteries carrying blood from the heart.

A replacement for the ‘forgotten valve’

Israeli startup Trisol Medical is developing a minimally invasive device that can replace a faulty tricuspid heart valve. The tricuspid valve is known as the “forgotten valve” as other bio-techs have focused efforts developing replacements for the aortic and mitral valves.

US approval for brain scan software

I reported previously (Nov 2016) on Israel’s Aidoc whose AI image software helps radiologists in fast detection of acute brain bleeds in CT scans. Aidoc’s system has now received US FDA approval and is currently in use at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center.

US approves Teva’s cancer treatment

The US FDA’s oncology committee has approved CT-P10 – Teva’s monoclonal antibody biosimilar to Rituxan (rituximab) for the treatment of various forms of cancer. The development of biosimilars has the potential to increase accessibility to therapies for patients.

Contact lenses for the nose

Israel’s Beck Medical has developed NozNoz – a silicon nasal insert that curbs the appetite by blocking the senses of smell and taste. The effect is to prevent stimulating the body’s olfactory bulb that controls hunger and food preferences. NozNoz is comparable to contact lenses for the nose.

Israel ranks 6th for healthcare efficiency

Israel has moved up from 7th to 6th in the world ranking for its achievement of having an average life-expectancy of 82.5 whilst spending only 7.9% of its GDP on Health. In comparison, the USA has an average life-expectancy of 79 but spends 16.8% of GDP on Health.

Where to find cancer treatment trials

Israeli-US startup TrialJectory helps match (initially) melanoma patients with clinical trials appropriate to their condition. The patient provides details of themselves and their cancer to TrialJectory. An algorithm and AI (Artificial Intelligence) then select trials likely to be effective.